Alabama residents: what's the deal with Brookside?

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Months of research and dozens of interviews by AL.com found that Brookside’s finances are rocket-fueled by tickets and aggressive policing. In a two-year period between 2018 and 2020 Brookside revenues from fines and forfeitures soared more than 640 percent and now make up half the city’s total income.

And the police chief has called for more.

The town of 1,253 just north of Birmingham reported just 55 serious crimes to the state in the entire eight year period between 2011 and 2018 – none of them homicide or rape. But in 2018 it began building a police empire, hiring more and more officers to blanket its six miles of roads and mile-and-a-half jurisdiction on Interstate 22.

By 2020 Brookside made more misdemeanor arrests than it has residents. It went from towing 50 vehicles in 2018 to 789 in 2020 – each carrying fines. That’s a 1,478% increase, with 1.7 tows for every household in town.

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Police in this tiny Alabama town suck drivers into legal ‘black hole’

The Sean Wattson case mentioned in the article is my case. I can't speak to much detail, but we represent a number of victims of that practice.

Just read what the Jefferson County Sheriff (a good guy) and the D. A. (another good guy) have to say. They're not wrong.

Based on what I've read above, I'd say that something isn't quite right in this little town.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm inclined to believe that there may be a criminal conspiracy afoot under the guise of questionable "proactive" police policies.

There are a couple of counties along the I-10 corridor in north Florida, just west of Jacksonville that have been doing the same thing on and off for years.

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Originally Posted by suncat05

Based on what I've read above, I'd say that something isn't quite right in this little town.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm inclined to believe that there may be a criminal conspiracy afoot under the guise of questionable "proactive" police policies.

There are a couple of counties along the I-10 corridor in north Florida, just east of Jacksonville that have been doing the same thing on and off for years.

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I was just about to mention that this reminded me of the Hampton, Waldo, and Crescent City fiascos (to name a few). Not that this is limited to just Florida, just Florida's Sunshine laws make it far easier to see what is going on. Truth is, it is likely to occur anywhere where the police force generates a non-trivial portion of the locales revenue and simultaneously operates with minimal oversight. All of the tale-tale signs are there: he swelling police force, the city government becoming progressively more obscure, accounting irregularities, the tendency to embrace authoritarian trappings (e.g. mostly unmarked cars, tactical gear when it is not warranted, large weaponry when it is not warranted, etc.)

"large weaponry when it is not warranted,"

Weapon was able to fire a 1,600 lb nuclear projectile 28 miles, but it could only do it once. Each firing caused so much recoil that it tore the barrel loose from its supports and blew the breach block door off it's hinges.

Attachment 10196

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Originally Posted by KSRBEvans

Police in this tiny Alabama town suck drivers into legal ‘black hole’

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They have a twin city on HWY 79 in Tennessee in a little town of Dover. I used to have 6 different customers on HWY 79 south west of Dover, and I would drive 37 miles out of my way to avoid that little town.

Common, not to this extent, for city/town councils to raise fines to increase revenue. This describes Ferguson, Missouri, for example. Also, doubling or tripling the fine if unpaid over time. Many California jurisdictions do this.

The minimum to dissuade the activity should be the law, and any policy maker’s rule of thumb.

It was a 4-1 vote to double parking fines a few years back. The parking commission needed more revenue. We are just punishing bad behavior and we let the bad citizens pay instead of increasing taxes on the solid citizens.

Except the people who get caught up are solid citizens until the one ticket compounds into losing their license, then the job, etc. mostly, in our case, college students commuting, get stuck late on campus. Or maybe downtown, get a little buzzed, take uber home, get a ticket for parking overnight. “For want of a nail the shoe was lost…etc”

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Originally Posted by PedroDaGr8

I was just about to mention that this reminded me of the Hampton, Waldo, and Crescent City fiascos (to name a few). Not that this is limited to just Florida, just Florida's Sunshine laws make it far easier to see what is going on. Truth is, it is likely to occur anywhere where the police force generates a non-trivial portion of the locales revenue and simultaneously operates with minimal oversight. All of the tale-tale signs are there: he swelling police force, the city government becoming progressively more obscure, accounting irregularities, the tendency to embrace authoritarian trappings (e.g. mostly unmarked cars, tactical gear when it is not warranted, large weaponry when it is not warranted, etc.)

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Yep, there have been a few of these.

It's funded largely with civil forfeiture, which is IMO blatantly unconstitutional. It's right up there with boarding British troops in your home isn't it?

I hope they are sued into poverty then thrown in jail for that kind of abuse of power.

And yes, the feds handing out heavy armor and weapons like Halloween is also unacceptable. It's also comical, b/c these systems are expensive to maintain and non-standard, so these towns get them for free then have to let them rot b/c they can't afford the upkeep.

It creates a completely wrong mentality among law enforcement. I'm all for law and order, and clearly there's a time you call SWAT, but you can't go into each day with that viewpoint.

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Originally Posted by CitizenBBN

It's funded largely with civil forfeiture, which is IMO blatantly unconstitutional. It's right up there with boarding British troops in your home isn't it?

I hope they are sued into poverty then thrown in jail for that kind of abuse of power.

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100% in agreement, I have NEVER been able to figure out how this makes sense in the minds of a number of constitutional conservatives I know. It creates a huge perverse incentive (witness every city mentioned above) and in my opinion is a clear violation of the fourth amendment for just that reason.

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Originally Posted by CitizenBBN

And yes, the feds handing out heavy armor and weapons like Halloween is also unacceptable. It's also comical, b/c these systems are expensive to maintain and non-standard, so these towns get them for free then have to let them rot b/c they can't afford the upkeep.

It creates a completely wrong mentality among law enforcement. I'm all for law and order, and clearly there's a time you call SWAT, but you can't go into each day with that viewpoint.

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I had a long discussion over numerous beers with a Sheriff in Everett, WA. One of the primary things we both agreed on are how pants-on-head stupid policing has evolved to become since the 90s. From the militarization of police forces to the transitioning away from local-based policing. One of his comments stuck out: "Half of my calls deal with people with mental health issues and/or on drugs, I'm not a professional in those yet I'm supposed to be. That should be a different group of people (to which we provide support), not just on us." In his viewpoint, he would rather be "walking a beat" in neighborhoods, meeting people in person, and developing relationships because "that's real police work".

I could go on and on but this would rapidly become fodder for the Politics Board which I actively avoid.

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/st...cles/18097265/

Oh it’s political. Bozeman police bought a Bearcat in secret and stashed it at the county. Police chief and City Manager should have been fired for it. The grant application said it was needed to protect against extreme environmentalist and religious groups. But when busted they claimed it was to protect against a lone gunman in a hostage situation. Turns out they had a previous grant in that said just that but the .Feds wont give you a free urban assault vehicle for that. But for extremist domestic terrorist fear mongering you will get a free MRAP.

FWIW the article BEvans linked has made the "pocket" list on FIrefox/Mozilla.

The thing that most ends this is exposure. And winning lawsuits.

Also, I'm going to go buy some land out in the middle of nowhere, incorporate a small town, put up some trailers etc. and take a picture, and then apply for a grant for a MWRAP. Always wanted one, though maintenance of a 24v system is not easy.

Would protecting the town from the zombie apocalypse be a good reason for needing one ? If not I can claim that since I'm in Kentucky I have to be worried about radicals seizing the town and demanding more Red Man and Ale-8.

The Chief has resigned.

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Originally Posted by MickintheHam

The Chief has resigned.

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Hope he gets one of those fancy orange jumpsuits soon.

This isn’t going away anytime soon. Brookside isn’t the only city in Jefferson County that engages in social media bullying. This will get more interesting with time. Lt. Gov and AG are really digging on this. Legislators are after the Mayor to resign.

My son and his buddy got involved in one of these scams a number of years ago in Shelby County. After 45 minutes of searching their car, they were left with their clothes and other belongings scattered along the side of the hghwy in the dead darkness of night.

https://www.al.com/news/2022/01/broo...s-critics.html

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Originally Posted by MickintheHam

This isn’t going away anytime soon. Brookside isn’t the only city in Jefferson County that engages in social media bullying. This will get more interesting with time. Lt. Gov and AG are really digging on this. Legislators are after the Mayor to resign.

My son and his buddy got involved in one of these scams a number of years ago in Shelby County. After 45 minutes of searching their car, they were left with their clothes and other belongings scattered along the side of the hghwy in the dead darkness of night.

https://www.al.com/news/2022/01/broo...s-critics.html

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I don't throw around Nazi references lightly, but that's some Gestapo-level crap in that article. That ex-chief deserves a lot more than just losing his job.

https://www.al.com/news/2022/01/jeff..._breaking_news

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Originally Posted by KSRBEvans

I don't throw around Nazi references lightly, but that's some Gestapo-level crap in that article. That ex-chief deserves a lot more than just losing his job.

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That's the problem with Nazi/Soviet type references. People overuse them so, when they really are appropriate, they lose their impact. lol.

Some of these kinds of people need to go to jail. That's how you stop this kind of abuse of power. That and simply put limits on such authority.

The gift that keeps on giving! Maybe you didn’t think this thing had sleaze to it. But, it does! Meet the number 2 in command!
https://www.al.com/news/2022/02/seco...f-trouble.html

Well, the town hall meeting last night went as expected. I agree with the guy who wants to see jail time for some of these fools.
https://www.al.com/news/2022/02/driv...ssolution.html

WVTM-13 (probably others) have the entire town hall meeting video on their Facebook page, if you want to watch.

Here are some of John Archibald's live-tweeting from last night as a sampling of what occurred.

@JohnArchibald: Jerry Foster asks Sheriff Pettway about Brookside jurisdiction signs that keep expanding.
(Crowd roars) https://twitter.com/JohnArchibald/st...355584/photo/1

@JohnArchibald: Sheriff Pettway:
“We will get in touch with the mayor of Brookside tomorrow to make them remove those signs. … they are not in their jurisdiction. If you call 911 they’re not coming”

@JohnArchibald: Netta Womack says “I always pray and this day has come at the right time.”

“And I do want my money back.”
(Big cheers from the crowd) https://twitter.com/JohnArchibald/st...075653/photo/1

@JohnArchibald: Givan asks a man “who took your vehicle?”
He and the crowd chant “Jett Towing!”

This struck a nerve.
#

@JohnArchibald: These stories are amazing and I’m not doing them justice.
Allegations of planted drugs, manufactured charges, police taking guns without charging.
“They got my money, guns, everything” one man says.
“They keep everything,” another calls.

@JohnArchibald: Danny Knight says Brookside should be dissolved, and prosecutor Mark Parnell and Judge Jim Wooten fired.
That got the biggest applause — I should say screams — yet.

Only 19 more speakers on the list.

@JohnArchibald: Pharmacist Pam Hill described a traffic stop in which she was threatened.
“I’m about to drop dead from all this trauma. Nobody can take this.” https://twitter.com/JohnArchibald/st...959301/photo/1

@JohnArchibald: John Minyard:
“I thought my story was bad. I’m sitting here shaking listening to these stories, because of how they get away with what they get away with.”

@JohnArchibald: Randy McDuffy says “we don’t just want resignations. We want people going to jail.”

@JohnArchibald: Alan Armstrong thanks the AG for sending people to this meeting.
Then says “but the Alabama Attorney General defends policing for profit.”

@JohnArchibald: A former Bham officer describes how he was pulled out of a car as a passenger, and the cops wouldn’t reveal their names and had no markings on uniforms. They called themselves Agent J and Agent K.
“I was dealing with the men in black.” https://twitter.com/JohnArchibald/st...029057/photo/1

@JohnArchibald: Monica Shelly describes the way her vegan, health-conscious daughter was stopped. She holds up a bag of herbs.
“This is mugwort (a medicinal herb). They said it was marijuana, impounded her car and took her to jail.”
“I’d have thought they would have smelled it.”

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Originally Posted by MickintheHam

Well, the town hall meeting last night went as expected. I agree with the guy who wants to see jail time for some of these fools.
https://www.al.com/news/2022/02/driv...ssolution.html

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There is no justice if they just get to resign. They need to be in jail, hopefully to receive the same respect and restraint they showed so many innocent people.

I just don't get "why" these guys are stealing other people's property, making up false charges, and planting evidence. Why? Because if you're a good cop and you're doing your job correctly, then you'll find illicit drugs, guns, and lots more if you're doing your job according to the state & local laws and department policy & procedure.
And so what if the bad guy/girl doesn't have any contraband on them this time? Kick them loose, because you'll see them again and that next time they darn well likely be holding.
Just do your job as it is intended to be done. It's that simple.

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Originally Posted by suncat05

I just don't get "why" these guys are stealing other people's property, making up false charges, and planting evidence. Why? Because if you're a good cop and you're doing your job correctly, then you'll find illicit drugs, guns, and lots more if you're doing your job according to the state & local laws and department policy & procedure.
And so what if the bad guy/girl doesn't have any contraband on them this time? Kick them loose, because you'll see them again and that next time they darn well likely be holding.
Just do your job as it is intended to be done. It's that simple.

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Suncat, you're confusing these people with police. And if they had police, they wouldn't be able to do what you say, because their 6 miles of jurisdiction with no traffic lights and only 1 store wouldn't get hardly anything. This isn't a place people pass through. You pass by it. Around it.

They aren't police. Just calling yourself police doesn't make it so.

They extended their "jurisdiction" 40 miles in order to "police." As the Jefferson County Sheriff said this week, all of those signs (their police jurisdiction, extending into other municipalities) were coming down, because if you call 911, they aren't coming.

I'm not sure people are appreciating fully what is going on here.

"Agent J. and Agent K." in their unmarked car, in their unmarked uniforms, leaving moms and their kids on the side of the interstate without a car because they took it, taking a young woman's keys on an unmarked roadway at night, leaving her unable to leave a dangerous 2-lane highway with no shoulder and ravines...

Those are the things that are reported.

If they acted as police, they'd have almost nothing to do there. They would not get any portion close to what they took. Nothing close. You can easily see that by what they did before this chief was appointed. They had nothing for years and years and years and years. Brookside has been around since 1898. You could add up all the years they've been in existence and wouldn't come up with what they've done in a couple of years.

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Originally Posted by Darrell KSR

Suncat, you're confusing these people with police. And if they had police, they wouldn't be able to do what you say, because their 6 miles of jurisdiction with no traffic lights and only 1 store wouldn't get hardly anything. This isn't a place people pass through. You pass by it. Around it.

They aren't police. Just calling yourself police doesn't make it so.

They extended their "jurisdiction" 40 miles in order to "police." As the Jefferson County Sheriff said this week, all of those signs (their police jurisdiction, extending into other municipalities) were coming down, because if you call 911, they aren't coming.

I'm not sure people are appreciating fully what is going on here.

"Agent J. and Agent K." in their unmarked car, in their unmarked uniforms, leaving moms and their kids on the side of the interstate without a car because they took it, taking a young woman's keys on an unmarked roadway at night, leaving her unable to leave a dangerous 2-lane highway with no shoulder and ravines...

Those are the things that are reported.

If they acted as police, they'd have almost nothing to do there. They would not get any portion close to what they took. Nothing close. You can easily see that by what they did before this chief was appointed. They had nothing for years and years and years and years. Brookside has been around since 1898. You could add up all the years they've been in existence and wouldn't come up with what they've done in a couple of years.

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Darrell, is there a published standard in Alabama for becoming a police officer? Is there a training requirement?

Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training. There's a big side story on that right now that may be interesting soon.

Betting Agent J and Agent K didn't pass it. lol. At least I hope not.

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Originally Posted by Darrell KSR

Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training. There's a big side story on that right now that may be interesting soon.

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I’m not surprised!

Well, the lawsuits are cascading down on poor little Brookside. The stories behind the lawsuits are horrific!

https://www.al.com/news/2022/02/laws...o-drivers.html